Palestinian existence under threat, Abbas tells UN, warning of ‘another Nakba’

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Israeli policies now threaten “the very life and existence of the Palestinian people on their homeland”, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the UN General Assembly on Thursday, urging the world not to allow “another Nakba”. 

Mr. Abbas addressed the Assembly’s annual debate via pre-recorded video after his delegation was, for the second consecutive year, denied the visas needed to travel to the US – measures he called unlawful and a breach of the United States’ obligations as host country.

He called on the US administration to reverse such measures and “return to the language of dialogue and mutual respect.” 

He said Palestinians in Gaza were being subjected to killing, destruction, starvation, attempted forced displacement and a “a war of genocide”, while in the West Bank settlement expansion was accelerating. 

He added that East Jerusalem was being isolated and settler terrorism was escalating under the occupation forces. Moreover, crimes of land theft, home demolitions, roadblocks and incursions continue. 

‘Not separate events’ 

What is happening in Gaza and in the West Bank and East Jerusalem “are not separate events”, he said, but “part of a malicious colonial plan” to make Palestinian life harder and drive people to forced departure from their land. 

“For how long will some States continue to remain silent about Israel, or supply it with the weapons it uses against our people?” he asked. 

Mr. Abbas said he had welcomed President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan as well as the Security Council resolution 2803, which endorsed the plan and called on all parties to implement it, but had not seen any of it materialize on the ground. 

With one year left of a transitional period due to end in 2027, he called for the second phase to be implemented without further delay, leading to the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, under “one State, one government, one law and a single legitimate authority over arms”.

He warned against the Israeli E1 Settlement Plan, which he said would cut East Jerusalem off from the rest of Palestine, and called for implementation of Security Council Resolution 2334 on halting settlement activity. 

He also called for continued support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), saying there was “no alternative to the agency” while the refugee question remains unresolved, and demanded the release of more than $6 billion in Palestinian funds withheld by Israel.

‘Honored our commitments’

A year after the General Assembly endorsed the New York Declaration, which seeks to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-State solution, Mr. Abbas said, “we have honored our commitments”, citing reforms to public finance, social protection and school curricula in cooperation with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 

Legislative elections will be held on 28 November, he said, followed by renewal of the Palestinian National Council and presidential elections.

“We want a democratic Palestinian state that respects the rule of law and human rights – an unarmed state living in security and peace alongside the State of Israel,” he said.

He thanked the 160 states that have recognized the State of Palestine, urged the others to follow and called for full UN membership.

“We will not leave our homeland. We will not accept displacement. We will not allow anyone to decide our future on our behalf,” he said.